Way-bill index.



D. T. EDWARDS.

WAY BILL INDEX.

l APPLICATION FILED APR. 4, 1913. 1,176,043. Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

.n.w v o Attorneys THE COLUME PLANORPH Con WASHINGTON, D. C.

D. T. EDWARDS. WAY BILL INDEX.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 4. |913.

Patented Mar. 21, 1916.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Attorneys THE COLUMBIA PLANOURAPH co.. v'msmNcnoN,v D. C.

'WAY-BILL INDEX.

Specification of Letters Patent.

' Application filed April 4, 1913. Serial N0. 758,983. i

To aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, OsvIL T. EDWARDS, acitizen of the United States, residing at Jacksonville, in the county ofDuval and State of Florida, have linvented a new and useful NVay-BillIndex, of which the following is a specification. n

The present invention relates to improvements in way-bill index sheets,the primary object of the invention being the provision of a sheetwhereby way bills taken into account or reported, or transferred areproperly indexed according to their date and in certain columnsaccording to the Vlast digit of the way-bill serial and number, thusproducing a sheet or book of sheets whereby the bills are readily postedin a systematic manner regardless of when received, the date of the billindicating the page upon which the same is'written while the last digitof the way-bill serial and number will indicate the column in whichthesame is posted.

With the foregoing and other objects in view which will appear as thedescription proceeds, the invention vresides in the combination andarrangement of parts and in lthe details of construction hereinafter.de-

scribed and claimed, it being understood that changes in thepreciseembodiment of the invention herein disclosed can be made within thescope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of theinvention.

In the drawings-Figure 1 `represents a single sheet or page, the ysamebeing cut away centrally and foreshortened, with examples writtenthereupon showing the system as in operation. Fig. 2 is a plan view of away bill. Fig. 3 is a similar view of the freight billfilled outaccording to the-way bill as indicated in Fig. 2. Fig.' 4 is another waybill showing the method of Writing thereupon the transfer and other datanecessary. Referring to thedrawings, and more particularly to Figs. 1, 2and 3, the index sheet or page 1 as shown in Fig. 1 is provided with,one, or a portion of one page, for each day in the month, according tothe volume of business and thus the date 2 ofthe way bill will at onceindicate that the same is to b eplaced upon the coincident numberedpage, as in this instance, February 8, 1913, there being one page or aportion of a page for each day in the year, so that the date of the Waybill 3 as illustrated in Fig. 2 will be taken for the main indication tobe employed in posting the way bill in the index. Thus the way bill 43,as shown in Fig. 2 is dated February 8, 1913, will be posted on theFebruary 8, 1913, page of the index sheet 1, said index being dividedvertically into columns 4 from 0 to 9 there being two columns 4 at theextreme right to be used for overflow indexes or when the spaces in theother vertical columns have been completely filled, this, however, maybe dispensed with according to the volume of business done at a station.Each of the respective columns 4 or 4 under the respective numbers orciphers, are divided into three main indices 5, 6 and 7, as indicated atthe top of the respective columns Vay bill from, Way bill, and Pro ortran. car. The column 5 under Way bill from is for the reception of thename of the station of origin, which in the instance of the bill shownin Fig. 2, is Richmond, Virginia, thus Richmond7 is posted in the column1 as in Fig. 1. At the top of each one of the vertical columns 8 and 9under the Way bill, column G is posted the abbreviations Pref. and Noand in column 9, throughout the full length thereof, is the cipher,indicated at 10, which corresponds with the main cipher of the column 4or 47, the first column containing 0 so that as the way bill in dicatedin Fig. 2 is serial and number K 12470, the prefixv or serial K isplaced in the column 8 below Pref while the zero or last digit of thenumber indicates that such number should be placed in the zero column 9and therefore in the position, as shown in Fig. 1. Thus .it will be seenthat the way bill, as indicated in Fig. 2, is positioned upon the pageor index for February 8, 1913, in the zero column 4 and all-that isnecessary in locating the position of the Way bill is-to ascertain thelast digit of its number and its date of origin. The Way bill is postedaccordingto its origin date and regardless of the date received, thusplacing in the index, the way bill not as received but according to thedate of issue. Vfhere the way bill 3 is taken into account or rebilled,the revising or expense bill clerk as indicated in Fig. 2, Floridatransfer, Florida`writes in red ink, as at v12, upon the face of the waybill in the second column 11 or the column of the consignee, theabbreviation Prof and the number, which in this instance is H 8798 andthe date of receipt as February l0, 1918, the same either Patented Mar.21, 1916.

being written or indicated fby numerals,

preferably numerals, as indicated in Fig-."2

dicating at a glance the serial number of the way billand the number ofthe Prof on which the way bill was rebilled on Febp ruary 10,1913.

Inl Fig. 3 is indicated the freight bill 13, which is readily7 made outfrom the way bill 3, thesame indicating at a glance that the Pro. No. isH 8798 and that the way bill number is K 12470dated February 8,1913originated in car 33,768 (from Richmond, Virginia, thus indicating'uponthe face of the freight bill'the addresses of the consignor and theconsignee and as to whether the freight was transferred or came throughin the same-carfrom the point of origin. i

lIn Fig. 4the collect way`bill14 is numbered K' 471, and as its date isFebruary 8,

1913,' the same is posted in thesecondl column 4 of the index sheet lasshown in Fig. 1. As this freight is billed through to Tampa, Florida,fromRichmond, Virginia, the transfer clerk at Florida Transfer,Fl`orida,fstamps in the second column 15 as indicated, the indicationthat the freight was transferredfrom the car ACL `337 69 Ito Vcar No.ACL.39670gunder date of February 10, 1913, the transferclerk initialingthey same as Vindicated at .I. IV. J. Thus a book composed of threehundred and sixty-five pages A1, may be used'as a record of Vfreighttransferred and not taken into account by showing under Station pro. No.first, the 4short or loading number oi car from which the freight islunloaded, and secondly, the short or loading number into whichthe-freight is transferred. All modern transfer stations list lall carsunloaded and loaded according to the position. or'board number, as wellas the number YVof the car,

therefore with the index of these short numbers, reference can be madeto the record, showing both short number and actual car numbers, sealrecord and the .break bulk points. of cars loaded and unloaded. Re-`gardless of the nature of transfer records kept, it is necessary to`always refer to the seal and loading record in handling papers, hencethis index book will be found a great time saver, both vin postingtransfer records and handling tracers,.etc. ln'rth'eface of theY wayvbill 14, in column 16, is stamped the exception..number ksuch exceptionnum- ,ber being Yrecorded Vupon the-index sheet above `the car number'and date, as indicated at 17Y in Fig. 1, as T 1688, thus correspondinglwithv the numbe'rin .connection withthe stamp number upon the Vway bill14V in column 15, as illustrated in Fig. 4.

In usinglthe present device as a iway bill index, a' page or moreor aportion thereof l' accordingY to the volume vof'business, for each dayin Athe month, is employed, the sameincluding the space at first of eachmonth, .forway-bills received bearing no date. The Vway bills are thusentered as before described, regardless of when receivedron pagescorresponding with the dates of such bills, those being posted in therespective columns 4 from 0 to 9, accordingl to the closing digit in thewaybill number, and if no way bill number-"is given, it isprefrferredfthat such way bill be, posted in the .Ocolumn 4 as No number, theWords No number being written in columnsS and '9 under Pref No.77 ,Inpractice, the expense A' 1 j of the waybill'and suchwaybill .shouldbe Y1 placed in date order before indexing, it havi bill clerk should enterPro. N o. on the face ing been discovered with this index th'a't'30 waybills can be posted per hour and such posting'of the way billswillplacegthemin the date order for reporting.

- vVhat is claimed is:

. In a means for posting Way bills, arecord l book andxa way bill thebook comprising, pages .each provide with a `column of single,identical. digits, and vthe-'way bill having a numberfthe last digitofwhich corresponds tothe digits in the column, all

of the Vother digits in the number of the 'wayv bill constitutingindicia peculiar to the way bill andindependent vofrany markingY on thepageV of the book', thev Way bill havmg a In testimony that I claim theforegoing as my own, I have hereto affixed my signature in the presenceof two witnesses.

VvWitnesses:

A. M. REINHOLD, R. F. BLACKBURN.

OSVIL T. EDWARDS.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressingthe "Commissioner offlatents, Washington, D. C. Y A v

